Obituary of Nora Visser

Nora Visser May 26 1930 – December 18 2020 On the morning of December 18, Nora passed gently and peacefully from this life to the next. She is lovingly held in the memory of her children Eleanore (John); Judith (Tom); Heidi (Doug); Mardi; David (Joyce); Matthew; Jessica (Darren); Jeff; and longtime honorary family member Denise Vesterfelt. Grandma will be missed by Josh & Natalie; Miriam, Beau, Seth, & Elisa; Jesse, Katharine, & Hannah; Matthew & Emilie; and their families, including the fifteen great-grandchildren who are lucky enough to have known their Grandmama. Nora emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada in 1950, a few months after her fiancé John. They were married in Toronto on August 11 1951 and moved to their first farm near Huntsville. Three babies later, the family relocated to a farm in the Ottawa Valley, just outside of Carleton Place. In 1965, with six children in tow, Nora and John made the trek north to New Liskeard, eventually settling on The Farm east of the “Nine Mile Corner”, where the family completed itself with the advent of the two youngest children. During the New Liskeard years, Nora became part of the community fabric through her church involvement, her many years of housecleaning for numerous families who integrated her into their family lives in so many ways, her membership in the Temiskaming art club, and her consistent and decades-long presence at the local Farmers’ Market. Family was, of course, ultimate for Nora, and every new baby of every generation was joyfully welcomed and celebrated. She was a friend to many, and had a quiet, behind-the-scenes way of extending compassion and thoughtfulness to others. Her artistic creativity found expression not only in her painting, but also in handwork like knitting, smocking, crocheting, and embroidery. She was a capable seamstress, but readily admitted that this was not her favourite pastime! For many years, she and John gardened together, providing organic vegetables and berries for market sales, and enjoying a shared love for cultivating their many flowerbeds and shrubs. An unassuming and quiet woman, Nora nevertheless possessed a fiercely independent spirit and, even after John’s death in 2012, emphatically insisted on continuing to live in her own home with her beloved cats, despite increasingly compromised mobility. In the face of the various challenges that life confronted her with, Nora lived with creativity and hope and resourcefulness. Just three days before her death, she was still planning new recipes to try out for next summer’s market. Faith and her church community were profoundly important to Nora, and she placed her confidence in the wisdom of the loving God she trusted. With sadness and joy, Nora’s family releases her to the loving embrace of the One who gave her the gift of life and has now called her home to forever-life. We will miss her, and will always continue to love her. In the new year, once it is safe to travel and gather together, Nora’s family will invite all those who wish to celebrate her life and faith to a service of remembrance and hope at First Baptist Church, New Liskeard. If anyone wishes to make a memorial donation, the family invites you to consider Temiskaming Palette & Brush Club or First Baptist Church, New Liskeard.